Making Democracy work at the local level: Ensuring sustainable growth and social progress in Latvia

"Whether we are talking about combatting depopulation in rural areas, creating employment through social enterprises or focussing on community-led development, the message is the same: We need to build up local capacities, mobilise the grassroots and civil society organisations, propose innovative and integrated approaches and build up alliances. Above all, we must empower local organisations and give them ownership of the process". With these words of Mr Jahier, President of the Various Interests Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), opened the conference on 'Economic Growth and Social Progress in Rural and Urban Areas', which was organised by his group in Riga on 25 March.

Speaking on the same day which commemorates the mass deportations of Latvian citizens by the Soviets in 1949, Mr Andris Piebalgs i, former EU Commissioner and Advisor to the Latvian President, recalled that today, "solidarity, freedom, tolerance and democracy" are the values of the EU which continue to drive the European project. However, the former Commissioner warned that it is imperative for Europe to capture the essence of what citizens care about and to take action on what affects their daily lives.

Following a session on how to boost rural and regional development, the participants explored various tools for changes, including the key role that can be played by the social economy, active citizenship and participatory democracy. The central focus of the debates was on the principle of subsidiarity and the role of a Europe which both empowers and protects its citizens and local communities - a Europe, which finds solutions for better social outcomes with its citizens as the protagonists through an independent civil society, and demand-driven local projects. These result in positive social and economic outcomes, in fast and flexible solutions, in social innovation and ultimately, in a Europe which is closer to its citizens.

For further details on the event, please visit the EESC webpage.

For more information, please contact:

EESC Press Unit

E-mail: press@eesc.europa.eu

Tel: + 32 2 546 8141 / +32 473 520 774